Land’s End to John O’ Groats cycle route

The Land’s End to John O’ Groats cycle route is not for the faint-hearted. Amateur adventurer Simon Lock saddles up for the UK’s toughest endurance ride. 

The rain on my glasses was making it difficult to see. The wind was getting stronger, making my waterproofs flap like sails on two small boats caught in a storm. As the damp started to work its way into my shoes, I wished I’d filled my water bottles with something stronger. 

For the next two weeks I would be spending more time on my bike than anywhere else, even bed. I was undertaking a journey that was due to make or break my relationships with cycling, with my riding buddy Rich, and with British weather. I couldn’t wait. 

Ever since cycling became more than just a way of getting from A to B, I’d dreamed of riding ‘LEJOG’. It’s a rite of passage for any self-respecting British cyclist, but it also represented an incredible way to explore a country I’d called home all of my life, but of which I had pretty limited experience. I’d done my fair share of travelling, but only a small amount in the UK itself – and almost nothing in Scotland.

Being the wrong side of 30 and a bit soft, I wanted to take my time and sleep in an actual bed. On this basis, Rich and I agreed that youth hostels were the perfect option. We’d keep within our fairly modest budget, avoid the nightmarish ordeal of pitching a tent in the dark after 100 miles of cycling and we’d also get to share a few stories with like-minded cyclist on the way. It was a no-brainer. 

We’d plotted a 1000-mile route, with each hostel acting as a dot that we had to then link up with a combination of NCN routes and our own navigational guesswork. 

The trip was due to take us 13 days. It’s a time that would leave us woefully short of the record of 41 hours, 4 minutes and 22 seconds, but we weren’t looking to go down in history. This was a once-in-a-lifetime ride – if we didn’t have time to enjoy the scenery, we didn’t see the point. 

After weeks of anticipation, careful route-planning and a few last-minute impulsive kit purchases we arrived at YHA Land’s End in darkness before the following morning’s departure. The forecast for the morning looked pretty grim, but spirits were high as we checked into the first in a long line of welcome rest stops. 

The following morning we bid farewell to the hostel staff with big grins and full bellies, and started our trip with the obligatory Land’s End signpost photo. From here we had 70 miles between us and our first stop off at the YHA Eden Project.

As the rain became heavier the Eden Project seemed an impossibly long way ahead – never mind Carlisle or the Scottish Highlands. What would the weather have in store for us up there? Wet kit and dampened spirits were now a reality we’d hoped to avoid. 

Thankfully the weather we experienced on our first day was by far the worst, and our waterproofs saw only intermittent use for the next week. From the Eden Project we struggled up and down countless hills as we skirted Exmoor before enjoying the stark contrast across the Somerset Levels. 

After a night on the harbourside in YHA Bristol we crossed the Severn Bridge, flirting with the Welsh border, stopping in the Shropshire village of Clun. The two hostels sat at the opposite ends of the spectrum we’d encountered. One was a buzzing urban hub with young travellers coming and going, the other a charming old farmhouse surrounded by rolling hills and agricultural land. We loved each one for different reasons and, knowing we’d end the following day by crossing the Mersey into Liverpool, enjoyed the tranquility of our stay at YHA Clun. 

As we left YHA Liverpool we were slowed by biblical rainfall and disheartened by the imposing industrial estates that flanked our route. Within minutes, however, the rain cleared and the grey concrete gave way to farmland as we followed canals towards rural Lancashire and the picture-postcard village of Slaidburn. 

The trip had already thrown up some incredible riding and allowed us the chance to stop in some great locations. We were hostel-hopping from cosmopolitan cities one night to remote corners of the countryside the next. Wherever we stopped we were met with a warm welcome and a wave of endorphins that only come from a long day in the saddle. Every hostel allowed us the opportunity to meet new people and discover a new place to satisfy our now colossal appetites. 

Each morning we saw landscapes change around us as we made our way up the country. We were scrumping apples, slipstreaming tractors and throwing bikes over road closure barriers in an attempt to maintain our progress. The trip was everything I’d hoped it would be and more, and despite the fatigue and the saddle sores, the warm beds and hearty breakfasts made the whole thing something I simply can’t recommend highly enough. 

It took us just over a week from leaving YHA Land’s End to reach Gretna Green, where we were met by offers of discount wedding packages. Despite the overwhelming sense of achievement at having travelled the length of England under our own steam, however, we were in no mood for romance as the prospect of hilly terrain and Scotland’s infamous rainfall levels lay ahead. 

Simon and Rich reached John O’ Groats at 5.37pm on Friday 16 September 2016 almost two weeks after setting off. They covered 1,048 miles and raised £3,700 for their chosen charities.